Russian Parliament to Focus on Digital Economy Bills in Next Session, Says Chairman

Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, has said that bills on the digital economy will be a priority during the upcoming session. The parliament’s official website revealed this in a press release published Wednesday, Jan. 9.

Speaking at the opening of the parliament’s spring session, Volodin mentioned the digital economy bills that are currently being considered, including the ones on digital financial assets, digital rights and crowdfunding. According to the chairman, the members of the parliament will focus on these bills during the upcoming session.

Volodin also urged lawmakers to create a favorable legal environment for the development of the digital economy in Russia.

The chairman further recommended the creation of working groups of experts, entrepreneurs and researchers in order to speed up the development of new digital economy-related laws. Volodin added that the MPs are set to present more than 20 new draft bills related to the digital economy in the near future.

The Russian government has been struggling to finalize its bill on digital assets throughout last year, with the final version receiving heavy criticism from members of the industry. The draft bill for crypto legislation — which lacked definitions for core crypto concepts, such as mining and cryptocurrencies themselves — has been ultimately sent back to the first reading stage.

In September, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) — the members of which include mineral mining and smelting billionaire Vladimir Potanin and the head of the Russian innovation fund Skolkovo, Viktor Vekselberg — proposed an alternative to the state draft bill on crypto. In November, the group sent its proposals to the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev.